Schofield soldier dies of wounds near Kirkuk

A Schofield Barracks soldier died Tuesday from wounds he received while on patrol in Iraq.

He is the fourth soldier from Schofield Barracks killed in Iraq since September.

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News Service quoted the U.S. military in Iraq yesterday as saying that a soldier assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was hit by enemy fire Tuesday near the northern city of Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad. He died later of his wounds.

The soldier's name was not released.

Schofield Barracks officials confirmed that a Schofield soldier had been killed, but would not confirm the soldier's unit or identify him pending notification of his family.

Since September all of the Schofield soldiers killed in Iraq belonged to the 25th Division's 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment.

They were:

» Pfc. Jeremy R. Shank, 18, who was killed Sept. 6 while on patrol near Balad.

» Sgt. Velton Locklear, III, 29, of Lacey, Wash., and Pfc. Kenneth E. Kincaid, IV, 25, of Lilburn, Ga. Both were killed by a homemade bomb exploding near their Humvee in Riyadh on Sept. 23.

Seven thousand Schofield soldiers began a year's deployment in Iraq in August.

Since the war started in March 2003, 17 Schofield soldiers have died in Iraq.